Method of making a hair curl-clip



March 29, 1966 G. LONGHlNl 3,242,564

METHOD OF MAKING A HAIR CURL-CLIP Original Filed March 5, 1962 INVENTOQ GIOVANNI LONGHINI ollttys.

United States Patent 3,242,564 METHOD OF MAKING A HAIR CURL-CLIP Giovanni Longhini, Via Bernardino Verro 30, Milan, Italy Original application Mar. 5, 1962, Ser. No. 177,428. Divided and this application Feb. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 436,718

Claims priority, application Italy, Oct. 13, 1961, Patent 92,005 1 Claim. (Cl. 29-434) This invention relates to a method of making a pin, clip, clasp, or the like, especially of the type for holding the hair in place and keeping it rolled up, comprising moulded plastic parts. This application is a divisional application of application Serial No. 177,428 for Pin, Clip or the Like, Especially for Holding the Hair in Place and Keeping it Rolled Up, Comprising Moulded Plastic Parts, filed March 5, 1962, and now abandoned.

It is a known fact that many different types of hair pins, clips, clasps and the like are sold commercially for holding curls, locks, and waves in place, as well as curling irons and the like, and that such devices may comprise generally a pair of rods or arms pivoting at some point and being acted on by a spring or springs so as to exert pressure upon being closed, the pivoting point subdividing the rods into two parts, one of which engages with the hair while the other part is operated by the person using it. Such pins, clips or clasps comprise metal or moulded plastic parts, but, in any case, are high in price and, what is more, the pivoting system often gives rise to trouble which may go so far as to cause the rods or grippers to come apart and the clasp to be put out of use. When the gripping members are of plastic, a separate pivoting pin must always he provided and the assembly of this pin always requires carrying out a special operation which affects the price of the article.

The invention embodied herein has as its object the elimination of the above trouble and other disadvantages and comprises a method of making a pin, clip, clasp, or the like, especially of the type for holding the hair in place and keping it rolled up, having a pair of rods or grippers of moulded plastics and suitably pivoting on one another, characterized by the fact that each gripper has incorporated in its body an engaging means in such a manner that the engaging means of one gripper can fit into and engage with that of the other gripper, one of said engaging means having a suitable opening or openings which hold or serve a seat for the pivoting member incorporated in the body of and protruding outside of the congruent walls of the other engaging means, there being suitable elastic, flexible or springing means present such as can advantageously be incorporated as an integral piece into the same material comprising the grippers, said means being able to hold the pin, clip, clasp or the like shut, counteracting the opening action on the part of the user, one engaging means being inserted into the other by snapping the protruding pivoting members inside of the congruent openings for same.

An added advantage is provided by having the openings designed to receive the pivoting members of the other engaging member oblong and the thickness of the walls of the engaging member in which said openings are made reduces to zero at the base of the openings themselves coinciding with the side of the engaging member integral with the gripper, in order to do away with any undercut which would make it difficult or impossible to remove the gripper from its form after moulding.

These and other features of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example in the following description which refers to the accompanying drawings; the drawing and description being given as non-restrictive examples and not limiting the scope and coverage of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a pin, clip, clasp or the like made of a pair of moulded plastic grippers, pivoting on one another in accordance with and embodying the invention.

. FIG. 2 is a cross section view of the pin, clip or clasp shown in FIG. 1, taken along the line X-X.

FIG. 3 is a partial view from below in an enlarged scale drawing of the pin, clip or clasp in question.

With reference to the above drawings, the pin, clip or clasp A, which may be advantageously used by women and girls to hold hair curlers and rolled hair comprises a two-member pivot B-C, each of which forms a rod or gripper which in this case is produced by moulding plastic material and, to advantage, using the type of plastics known commercially by the name Delrin. Delrin is the trademark for an acetal resin and identifies the source of the acetal resin as I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Plastic Dept, Du Pont Bldg, Wilmington, Delaware.

Each gripper B-C has at one end a gripping area or zone of action 10-12 which is located at one side of pivot D, while the other end has an elongated area 14-16 suitably tapered towards the ends 18-20 and having in this case a longitudinal stiffening rib 22-24. For a certain breadth of the inside surface 26-28 of grippers B-C there extend toothings 30-32 each of which comprises a set of parallel teeth between which the hair is pressed when pin, clip of clasp A is in its closed position as shown.

Pivoting D of the two grippers to one another is provided by an engaging member F integral with gripper C, as well as engaging member G integral with gripper B, said engaging member being formed, as shown, during a single forming operation when the gripper is formed with it.

Each of these engaging members has its walls 34-34, 36-36 and 38-38, of which walls 34-34 blend into the gripper area.

As will be noted, the width of engaging member F is greater than that of engaging member G so that in this case engaging member G fits inside of engaging member F for pivoting the grippers to one another. Outside of walls 36-36, pivoting members 40-42 are formed to protrude, being lined up with one another and being slipped inside the oblong openings 44-46 provided for them and formed in walls 36-38 of engaging member F, said openings being parallel to one another and having the peculiarity of continuing downwards until reaching ends 48-50, at which ends the thickness s of walls 36-38 becomes zero, for the purpose of moulding as previously mentioned, specifically, to avoid creating any undercut draft areas which would make it diflicult to remove or slip out member C from its mould after forming.

Pin, clip or clasp A is completed, in this case, by an elastic, flexible member H, consisting of a resilient U bent strip the ends of which 13-15 being inserted in notches or cuts made for them or, in any case, said ends working against bosses incorporated there from the inside surfaces 17-19 of the action zone 10-12.

The pin, clip or clasp is assembled by simply inserting engaging member G in engaging member F until pivoting means 40-42 snap in place inside their openings 44-46 after which spring H is placed in position (which spring, instead of being a strip or leaf could also be spiral or coil shaped or even incorporated inside said grippers, there being in this case flexible or resilient members of plastic material which react mutually in such a way as to keep spring A in the designated position of closure) between the areas 10-12 so that the opposite branches of said spring, acting at 13 and 15, tend to cause the grippers B-C to rotate in the directions Z-Z' about pins 40-42.

It is apparent that the user, by compressing together the areas 1012 in contrast to and counteracting the action of spring H, causes the grippers to rotate in the direction opposite to that shown by arrows Z-Z' opening the pin, clip or clasp and separating the lengths 14-16 from one an other while the toothings 30-32 releases its grip on the hair.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of producing a hair curl-clip of the type including a first and second superposed elongated jaw members each including a handle portion, a clamping portion and pivot means in the area of juncture of the pair of said members each of said jaw members having an engaging and an outer surface, comprising the steps of:

(a) injection molding a first jaw member of thermoplastic, essentially resilient resinous material to have its handle and clamping portions and first pivot means integrally formed, the pivot means on said first component including first parallel spaced ears having coaxial pivot pins outwardly protruding therefrom,

(b) injection molding a second jaw member of similar material to have its handle and clamping portions and second pivot means integrally formed, the second pivot means on said second component including second parallel ears spaced for accommodating said first pair of ears therebetween, and forming elongated pivot pin receiving slots in said second ears, each slot being extended to open on the outer surface of the jaw member to facilitate removal of said second jaw member from the mold,

(c) spreading said second pair of ears,

(d) fitting said first pair of ears between said second ears, and

(e) allowing said second pair of ears to resiliently close about said first pair of ears to engage said pivot pins in said elongated slots.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,749,920 6/1956 Kriesman et a1. 132--48 X 2,883,993 4/1959 Laughton l32-48 X 2,898,922 8/1959 Lyman 13248 FOREIGN PATENTS 440,040 11/ 1935 Great Britain.

CHARLIE T. MOON, Primary Examiner. 

